PHYSICAL BULLYING
After The Bullying
Why you should stand up to bullying: the victim's point of view.
Physical bullying has effects that go beyond a black eye or skinned knee. It can cause the victim to feel afraid, angry and upset. This is why you need to stand up to bullying and take action.
Click here to learn about the effects of bullying (DOC)
Here is an example of what happens after someone has been physically bullied. Watch the bullying from the victim, Kyle’s, point of view
Think you know?
The following questions are to help you better understand the effects of physical bullying. Work by yourself or with a friend to come up with answers on your own before looking at our answers.
Questions about the video:
What are some obvious and not so obvious things Kyle is feeling?
- Embarrassed
- Angry
- Scared
- Upset
- Confused
- Feels down about himself and the situation
Why do you think Kyle yells at his mom instead of telling her what happened?
- Kyle feels angry and embarrassed about being bullied.
- It is easier to take these emotions out on others.
- He may also feel like his mom wouldn’t understand what happened or how he is feeling so it may be easier to avoid talking about it.
What do you think Kyle is trying to accomplish by staying home from school? How can this make the situation worse?
When a victim is bullied they can feel like everyone is against them. We call this our “worst case scenario thoughts” or WCST. It is easy for Kyle to imagine that everyone in the school is talking about him or what happened. Because Kyle is both scared of being bullied again and embarrassed about what happened, he believes that by avoiding school he can avoid the problem.
Avoiding school doesn’t make the problem go away and in fact it can make things worse.
- If Kyle continues to skip school and class his grades will suffer.
- Avoiding school leaves room for speculation and rumors or gossip may start about him.
- Lastly, avoiding school will give the bully the impression that they “won”. This will encourage Andrew to bully Kyle even more.
What might be some other reactions victims have to physical bullying?
- Low self-esteem
- Problems concentrating
- Feeling sad
- Being forgetful
- Losing interest in activities they enjoyed
- Trouble sleeping
- Sudden drop in grades or failing a class
- Trouble sleeping
- Skipping school or class
- Using alcohol or drugs
- Using negative "I am" statements
- Avoiding social situations
- Going from happy to sad or angry quickly
Let's take a look at what happens next in If You See Bullying Happening →